Star Fox: The Fanfiction SuperFriends
by XxSanitariumxX
Summary: This is an interview story featuring myself, Zythxx, Cpt. Fox, Hopeless Tyronos, and Pen vs. Sword. This is for everyone new to FF and who want to improve their writing skills.
1. XxSanitariumxX

_**AUTHOR'S NOTES~~~ Hey everyone, XxSanitariumxX here. Just want to explain that this is a collaborated effort. Each chapter is written by another author that I have selected for his/her skills, experience, situation, and writing style. I'm going first in this chapter and I'll be interviewed by Fox McCloud, my favorite character. The other author's will be interviewed by their favorite characters. I'm going to address a few key things I see in many stories that I want abolished, and I'll talk about writing erotica. Anyways, hope you enjoy, this is for the benefit of all, Hell, I'm hoping I get a couple of tips from the bozos I recruited into the Fanfiction Super-friends!**_

"Hello everyone, this is Fox McCloud." The familiar orange vulpine announced. "Tonight I am your host in this collaborated story. In order to abide the website and its rules that are very strict," the fox said with a sarcastic chuckle, "I am here to interview the ringleader of this group that he calls the Fanfiction Super-friends! God damn that is such a dumb name."

"Anyways, without further adieu, I present the sick and twisted mind that is, Sanitarium!" Fox said as an eruption of cheers from a boom-box somewhere in the dark studio room greeted the young human. A light flashed on him and he covered his eyes.

"Finally getting this over with." He said to himself and walked over to Fox who was sitting behind a desk. The two shook hands and Sanitarium sat down in his chair next to Fox's desk.

"First off Sanitarium, I have to ask, why are we here?" Fox asked forwardly.

Sanitarium crossed his legs. "Well, as of late I've been asked to help quite a number of people, whether it's asking for advice, to be a co-author, or just for me to review someone's story and give feedback how they did and where they can improve. Quite frankly I don't mind, _at all_, that people ask me for help and junk. I keep myself open to fans and the works. This is why I've decided that I need to reach out even further. I need to go deeper."

Fox nodded and asked. "How so?"

"Well, there are a lot of new author's of late, and I remember when I was a young author. Boy did that suck-"

"I'll say!" Fox cut in and the two shared a laugh. "You remember A Vulpine Assassin's Vendetta?"

"What? You mean AVAV? That old train-wreck!" Sanitarium chuckled.

"That was SO poorly written. You over did everything and lost me in the second paragraph! And what the Hell was up with the thousand word chapter updates? And SO many of them?"

The man shrugged. "I had written a lot and wanted to post a lot of it but I didn't want the chapters to be too long. Looking back, the chapters could have been longer, about five thousand is what I aim for in every chapter and unless I owe it to the fans after a long absence, I reach eight thousand. It works for me but for others it might not, depends really. Make it the right size for you but not too short or too long. Too short and it just irritates me waiting for the next update and I wonder why wasn't the first ten chapters all just one chapter. Too long and I get bored."

"So you want to help young authors, huh?" Fox asked, reverting back to the older topic.

"Yes. I have a few tidbits of personal advice and knowledge I wish to share. My partners will have their go's next update; I think Zythxx might go first. Depends on who sends me their piece first. But I'm getting off topic."

"What I want to say first off is, and you can quote me on this," Sanitarium said before clearing his throat. "DON'T FUCKING BLOCK TEXT!"

Fox winced and his ears flattened because of the painful levels of loud that nailed him flat out. "What do you mean by block text?"

"Specifically, I mean having someone say something, and then another person saying something in the same God damn paragraph!" Sanitarium scowled. "Like this?" Fox asked.

"Precisely! And sometimes that's all the story is! Just one large cluster-fuck of words that is hard to navigate through! People! You must have a blank space between ALL, paragraphs. What I mean by that, is that the paragraphs can't touch, or else they get conjoined by Fanfiction like Siamese twins or something."

Fox nodded and folded his hands together. "Anything else you wish to add?"

"Yes, a few things actually." Sanitarium said and cleared his throat, making Fox wince. "Details! Even now in a story where I'm being interviewed by my favorite Star Fox character, I'm adding details! You just winced a moment ago, that's what I mean by details. It's no fun reading a monotone story with no life or world." Sanitarium said and crossed his legs to improve his comfort in the plush chair by Fox's desk that was located in a building, on an unknown planet, in the universe that probably didn't exist.

"Of course there is such a thing as too much detail. Spread it out a bit maybe and keep it within context. Also be sure to read over your work and spell check. I am not trying to be hypocritical and I admit I make many much mistakes. Just do your best and actually ask people where the errors are if they don't already tell you, trusty me, it will save you a headache scanning your chapters over and over."

The man sighed and proceeded. "One more tip I have is that you should **never** start off with an M rated story, **EVER**. To even see M rated stories, you have to request to see them, and it's possible people don't remember to do this. If I released an M rated story now, as opposed to two years ago when I first started, it'd have some publicity because people added me to their alerts list. When you're a newbie, you're at the mercy of the adventurous types who search the M rated stories now and then. Plus, you don't need it to be M unless there is some hanky-panky in there."

Sanitarium sighed. "And your OC characters. I'll tell you this much. No one gives a flying fuck about an OC character. Readers have to be coaxed into liking them. You can't just dump load a shit ton of back story and emo stuff and expect the readers to eat it. People have to become acquainted with the character. Think of it like you were introducing your OC to someone. You don't start off and say, hey this is Mr. X, his wife is dead, he has super magical powers, he's stoic and boring, he's a do-gooder, and he like cake. You just don't do that, do you? If you need another example, take a look at Frozen Hell, one of my stories. I didn't unload Raye's entire back-story all at once; I spread it out and let people ascertain whether or not they liked him enough to care about his back-story."

"One last thing I want to mention is be confident and have a good summary. Nothing spells "boring" and "not worth it" more than someone saying "hey this is my first story, plz review plzzzzzz!" or "summary inside"."

Fox cocked an eyebrow. "That's it? That's all you have to say? You came up with this dumb idea and you made only like, three pages? The Hell man?"

Sanitarium shrugged. "Hey, I can't hog all of the spotlight. The others will pick up the things I missed and will have more stuff to offer in later updates. If I sat here and went over everything, then why bother even involving others anyway?"

"I guess…" Fox admitted. "Well anyways, that's all everyone, Sanitarium- hey! Wait a minute!" Fox shouted just as Sanitarium was nearly slinked away. "You said you'd talk about writing erotica!"

"Fuck." The human muttered under his breath. "I did, didn't I?"

"Yup." Fox said and pointed to the seat Relics had snuck out of and tried to escape from. Now the human trudged back to the chair and collapsed in it, his nine hundred dollar suit now wrinkling.

"Very well, where do I begin?" He asked aloud. "Well, first off, you have to be a romantic writer. You can't be like "and then he put his junk in her cooch". There has to be a level of romanticism and emotion in it. Use elegant words, beguiling words, and less immature words. Say the words aloud and if you get a vibe from it, decide whether you'll use it or not. Personally I hate the words cock, cunt, and vagina. Those words are more derogative and name calling words."

"Another thing is that you must have both parties involved; don't forget about the giver or receiver in favor for one or the other. Basically, put yourself in both parties' shoes, and describe what it's like for them both." Sanitarium explained and crossed his legs.

"But you are not a woman, how do you know what she feels? For all you know, she could just be laying there and letting you do your thing without feeling shit!" Fox pointed out.

Sanitarium nodded. "True, I don't truly know the experience of being a woman in climax, but I have read a few erotic books. From the other author's creative styles I forged my own. And _that_, is how author's can better themselves." Sanitarium pointed out affirmatively.

"Reading porn in writing?" Fox sniggered.

The human rolled his eyes. "No! Studying other author's and their styles. Then take the information collected and build your own unique style from it."

"Anything else erotica you want to add?" Fox asked.

"Yes. Details and suspense, details and suspense, details and suspense! ….The two had sex, they both came, and they fell asleep." Sanitarium said suddenly. "Not very good was it? Now try this…. The two caressed each other, their organs flirting with one another while the couple's lips became locked together in a sizzling kiss. Better no?"

Fox just looked at the human with a blank look. "…Go on."

"You weirdo." Sanitarium laughed. "The journey is the destination. If you're so Hell-bent on getting to the release, you'll never make it writing erotica. Enjoy the pleasures of the journey before you reach your destination!"

"Were you ever anxious, or did you ever have second thoughts when making erotic stories?" Fox asked once the man was done with his last tidbit.

Sanitarium nodded his head. "Oh God! When I first started, I was afraid to mention the word sex because I thought it would offend. It got worse and worse though, and I started adding details to people's intimate moments. Eventually we got Honeymoon and you got laid." The human said before receiving a hi-five from Fox. "Every chapter got dirtier and dirtier, it was hard concentrating sometimes. And now I made Saurian Prisoner, which shouldn't have lasted as long as it has. It really makes me question the limits of FanFiction and its powers."

"Meh, they're rated M, so why would they care? Plus, there are WAY worse stories out there… I should know." Fox countered with a shudder.

"True." Sanitarium sighed. "I admit, there were times I regretted stooping to pornographic writing, but now I think that it's just another genre to master. I enjoy it and others do as well. I never regretted it until Saurian Prisoner because I thought that Honeymoon was okay because it was about to lovers, not just you getting after Scales' daughters."

Once again Sanitarium got a hi-five from the vulpine. "That's all I guess. All I have to say is thanks for reading, hope you've learned something, and good luck with your futures people! Don't forget to give your stories life and details, spell check, take a step back and look at your work because sometimes you'll just look at it and be all like… I wrote this garbage?"

"Sanitarium ladies and gentlemen." Fox said as the boom-box once more erupted into cheers to which Sanitarium bowed to.

"Thank you, thank you! I know, I'm great. Thank you!" He said which made the vulpine roll his eyes with disgust. "Everybody is stupid except me!"

"Pompous ass." He muttered to himself when the man started blowing kisses to the empty studio. "Get out of here you bum! Make room for the next author!"

"Fine I'm going!" Sanitarium scowled and stomped off to go do Sanitarium things. Basically procrastinate and take forever to update his stories.

**XxSanitariumxX**

_**Okay guys, now's your turn. What I'd like to see is something like this but it is up to you entirely as to what you do. If you want to go in a different direction, fine, just as long as it is an interview. You can choose which character(s) you'll be interviewed by, try to give some insight on your strengths, mine was erotic writing. If you have any pet peeves in writing, feel free to explain them. Mine was block text. Hand out some advice, things to watch out for in writing, and anything else you think I might have missed. You have your assignment ladies and gentlemen, should you be captured while writing, the Fanfiction Super-friends will deny any knowledge of your existence.**_


	2. Zythxx

_Author's Notes_

_Hey everyone Zythxx here! This next section in this collaborated effort is written by me as it highlights a few things about my own writing style and two cents. I'll go a little bit further in detail that Sanitarium talked about last chapter, a few things about drama fics and just enjoying writing with a more laid back persona and approach with Falco as my interviewer. Hope this benefits anybody who reads it and if you have any questions be sure and say something!_

_X_

"Hello one and all back to Star Fox: The FanFiction Superfriends. I thee one and only Falco Lombardi am your host for this section of the story." The ace avian waved to the empty stands with an awkward smile. "Why the hell it's written without an audience is beyond me. But please welcome our next author of the FanFiction Superfriends Zythxx."

A human of dark skin and darker hair that was short in length stepped from behind the scenes as the spotlight shinned with as an immense roar of applause broke from the stands. He was dressed casually which was odd for an interview but it was too late now. He'd just have to deal with this strange human who took a seat next to the avian behind the desk.

"This should be good." The human chuckled as he crossed his legs revealing his black sandals on such an important talk of advice and personal thoughts.

"Zythxx I must ask if this is 'so important' to those who may be viewing the FanFiction SuperFriends – Oh God why the hell is that your group's name!" Falco just couldn't deal with it anymore, he had to know why.

"Whoa sorry there Mr. Ace but there wasn't a vote, hell there wasn't even a discussion for the name of our group!"

"Not at all?" Falco leaned back in his comfy seat as tapped his fingers together. "Interesting."

"Not really." The human admitted as he popped his neck. "It is Sanitarium's story so he can name it whatever the hell he wants. There's no discussion to have."

"Alright then no problem, though theoretically if there _was _a vote or discussion to name the group what would you name it?"

"Gay for Star Fox." The human said with a straight face. "Or something more comedic yet meaningful but hey whatever works."

"Alright then now onto actual business." Falco over looked the list of things to ask this viewed author as he needed to start at the top. "Skipping your attire as a first-"

"Hey every author has their own style right?" Zythxx shrugged as he gave a goofy smile explaining why he was dressed casually for something official. "I prefer a more laid back and not as serious or professional approach in many things I do and not just besides writing. That's just my style and everyone else is different."

"If you do then how come we have no audience?" The avian asked only to be interrupted a fraction of a second later. He jumped at the sudden cheering to see a full audience of many various species including a mixed human and Anthro crowd.

"It can have an audience though it doesn't really matter. Now what kind of questions do you have for me?"

"Uhhhh okay let's get to actual business now." Falco leaned back into his chair getting straight down to the root. "Like Fox before me and Sanitarium before you why are you apart of the FFSF?"

"Well just like Sanitarium before me I too have been called and messaged many times for tips and more. Viewing and reviewing other authors' works and giving my two cents of their general work. I'm honestly glad to be apart of this ridiculous yet helpful piece of work Sanitarium has come up with and happy he approached me and asked if I would be apart of it."

"Is asking to be a co-author apart of those callings as well?"

"Oh yes." The human explained. "Many times I've been ask to be a co-author or perhaps a beta reader for their stories. In fact people who may be reading this I may have agreed to be a beta for them but never really got into-"

"Damn right!" Falco yelled startling the human. "You should have at least told them you weren't interested in being a beta instead of just letting them drift."

"My point is Mr. Lombardi, the hell with it I'm just gonna call you Falco anyway." Zythxx smiled a triumphant smile as the avian rolled his eyes. "I'm just trying to be apart of something that I can assure you _will _help aspirating writers as long as this piece of work reaches out to them."

"You did try helping out before didn't you? With your community of Star Fox: Helping Hands."

"You would be correct." The human smiled as he crossed his legs. "It's a community that is centered on containing stories that aren't quite known as well as my own as its manager. Here in this community people can visit and see many stories by aspiring authors all in one place that could use a jump start to their writing career. If anybody reading this would wish to join or feature their story in the community I would love to do so."

"Well thank you for the info. Now back when you first started writing when you published the _fabulous _piece of work known as Old Love Strikes Again would you say that is when you officially became a FanFiction writer?" Falco asked sarcastically as the human only put on a sheepish look.

"Don't remind me."

"Well the first chapter of OLSA was published on August 8th, 2009. Now we're here, a little over two years later. How would you say you've evolved as a writer since that time?"

"Besides developing the skills of Writing 101 not much really. I think I just got lucky. I'll point it out right here and now: A story with a lot of reviews doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be a masterpiece, so be sure to branch out and check out everything that's out there! It shows the attention the story has received, not the skill level of its author as my stories are a good example."

"Well that's no one else's fault except your own no? In all honesty OLSA wasn't even worth reading the first chapter!"

"Hey I didn't ask anyone to read it."

"What was the deal with 'Regret Nothing' and the jealousy of Krystal even though anyone who could think logically would see that they weren't together so she shouldn't have been angry? And come on updating at least once every few days sometimes updating multiple times a day? Do you ever even see the outside world?"

"If it was that simple then drama wouldn't exist then would it? And the sun is very bright but it doesn't take a SuperFriends to figure that out." Zythxx had the avian there as the two shared a laugh. "Nah but really it was my first work and a small tip is to never be ashamed of your first work. It shows that you had the guts to step out and try something different."

"I suppose so. But anyway just like I'm sure anyone and everyone who is apart of FFSF you wish to help maturing authors as they continue?"

"Well that is true yes." A break was caught in between words as the human let out a tired yawn. "But I'm going to show you the more laid back version of advice. But of course anything that Sanitarium may have left out I'll be sure to shed a little more light but save some left for the next author behind me. I'm not sure who it is exactly perhaps Hopeless-Tyronos."

"Mhm mhm yes yes." Falco laughed to himself as he wondered what the human was up to. "How so exactly?"

"First off I'll expand a little bit on details as Sanitarium went through: Details are important but don't overdue it describing such things that don't reveal or shed anymore input to the story or the surrounding characters. Sentences like 'The pen just laid there its body cold to the touch as no one was touching the pen.' Unless that is some fucking magical pen that has some more back meaning to the story or characters that sentence was a complete waste of space."

"Alright then just so you don't confuse any authors who may be using pens to write their works: What would you say about details?"

"Only have enough to bring a scene to life but not so much as the reader's get bored." Zythxx listed as he leaned back into his chair. "See that? I leaned back into my chair but didn't say anything that my back was in a cramp or something like that. Detail is vital when something major is about to unfold and sometimes in breaks between travel. I have found detail to be a great asset when my characters are traveling and they gaze to the world before them."

"In scenes like that where there is no dialogue only the world in front go all out in detail by all means. Say what time of the day it was, the plants and animals all around them. The color of the sky and the weather. Bring the world to life in words so they could just close their eyes and see the world in front of them."

"However though if there is a scene playing out only have enough detail to keep them moving but not so much as they wish to stop and skip or perhaps just not even finish reading what's happening. Bottom line it has to be vast yet limited for the appropriate situation."

"Wow that's quite a bit there."

"Yea it was but whatever its how the world goes and just so you know I didn't want to say you were scratching your head stepping back to absorb all of this."

"Huh?" The avian was lost.

"Nothing what's next?"

"You're not very known for checking your work much before you put it do you? Making sure that you hadn't misspelled anything or repeated a sentence you kind of just post it up. Would you like to shed a little light on that?"

"Of course." Zythxx said as he placed his hands behind his head. "I guess you can call it a tip but you need to make sure you enjoy what it is you're writing. I write for my pleasure and my pleasure only I don't write for the 'fans' any and all of us may have. If I checked all pieces of my work, spending endless hour's perhaps even days to make sure every sentence was perfect I wouldn't enjoy writing. Some people spend hours checking their work before they put it up; I spend maybe like five minutes."

"I understand that it's because of writing for yourself but doesn't it ever bother you that some people find it irritating to see someone who is 'supposedly' higher up then average still making mistakes?"

"You learn to not care." Zythxx sat up as he met eye contact with the avian. "And not just in writing in many other things in life as well, you learn to not care about others opinions. If people are going to read your work hopefully it would be for what the purpose of stories; the enjoyment, the ride and the thrill of the tale. Not to see if you can put a sentence together without a misspelling." Zythxx laughed as he looked into the camera.

"Don't take after me though I'm an idiot, you do always want to make sure your story is as neat to the best of your abilities. Just make sure you take a step back and enjoy your work, be proud of what you're doing."

"Interesting. Honestly it's kind of hard to ask some interesting questions when Sanitarium took most of the Writing 101 topics."

"You're telling me Falco this is my interview after all."

"Well here's something: What would you say is your strongest story to best judge you as a writer?"

"Probably my High School series for writing quality. They center on drama and romance while my pride and joy story, The Royal Death Tour is known for action and specialization of Original Characters."

"Would you say drama is your strong suit or perhaps action?"

"I would definitely say drama is my caliber of writing, I've been told I have a knack for action but I could never generate a response with action then I could drama. My one shots aren't half bad either."

"Any tips on writing drama really?" Falco tried to beckon the human into explaining as he rolled his hands.

"Writing drama for me was simple since I was and still am a teenager and went through high school. But generic tips would be to think outside of the box. Have some kind of confrontation with mixed parties and shed some lights on the feelings you would see in live action, dramatic programs. All characters go through a struggle and their lives are usually brought to shamble or greatness because of an out side factor. A band of characters keeping strong then a lone outsider is what we all want to see. Also don't ever be afraid to throw a wrench into the whole mix and watch shit hit the fan. It's always fun to see what your audience thinks as you leave them on the edge of their seat wanting more."

"Do you ever really stop to think that you're writing nothing more then senseless drama?"

"Not at all." The human said suddenly. "A lot of shit in life doesn't make sense and happens for no reasons; writing is just another way of seeing that."

"Here's something else because we're starting to run out of something that isn't boring as fuck to read: You said your story The Royal Death Tour centered around Original Characters, what are your two cents on OC's?"

"Original Characters are great but when you twist and turn and constantly bend the character to where they include everything they just lose interest. You want your character to have been abandoned? Have a special ability or power? Or ties into with a CC in some way? Good that's great but just don't go overboard where it shines your character in a brilliant light and make the CC's totally boring. OC's are 'people' just like anybody else; the whole world doesn't revolve around them."

"Alright then let's take this interview into a different direction." Falco thought aloud as he leaned in his chair. "Do you have any pet peeves of writing really?"

"Not so much, most pet peeves are developed due to lack of experience and that's not really the author's fault. I don't have any pet peeves as common like Sanitariums quote on quote 'DON'T FUCKING BLOCK TEXT!'" Though I guess some of the pet peeves I would have are 'over original' Original Characters like I just talked about. Comparison to other authors – I mean really every author is different so how can you compare two ore more?"

"Others are not asking 'Higher Ups' for advice or personal opinions." To make his point stronger Zythxx looked into the camera as it centered on his face. "NEVER be afraid to approach me or any other higher ups around here for help, none of us got to where we are now by ourselves."

"Anything else?" Falco asked tapping his fingers together.

"Yea a few. Honestly I'm not the greatest fan of Human x Anthro pairings. Don't get me wrong some of them can be great but really I wouldn't try and pull off something…more critical like that until you've had some experience writing in those kinds of fields. The fields of drama and romance. Start off easy and work your way up. In all the stories I've seen here very few do so well with these pairings, the most noting I believe is Sanitarium's Frozen Hell itself."

"One last thing that kind of bugs me really is Self-Inserts, it automatically-"

"Wait what do you mean by Self-Inserts exactly?" Falco interrupted the human to try and reach deeper clarification.

"Well it's really a bleak term but Self-Inserts in my opinion really serve as the lack of creativity or perhaps the concoction of laziness. By their direct term they're usually the result of the author's persona involved in their story. Really all you did was put yourself into your story and now the character with their role as you are doing whatever the hell you want. You may as well have created an Original Character that actually fit into the universe instead of giving your audience this."

"Insightful. Alright let's finish up this interview that hits a little closer to home. What's with posting so many lyrics of songs in your writing? What purpose does that serve for you?"

"It's my inspiration." The human said loud and clear. "Every writer has to have some kind of motive to keep writing, something that inspires them to keep on going. Mine is music and I'm just sharing it with the world. Music is a huge part of who I am and a scene is much more alive to me when I can see and _hear _exactly what was going on. This also branches out to developing your own personal writing style. Inserting music lyrics, putting 'X's' in between segments of writing when the view switches. That's my style, make sure you read many different kind of stories from many different kind of authors and see what they all do and create your own unique style with the information you received."

"Anything else we possibly could have missed because this seems a hell of a lot longer then Sanitarium's." The tired avian pointed out as he just wanted to be done with it all.

The human wasn't about to let him though. "Yea I have a few more things to say. First off is to be creative and really think out your idea before executing your plan. Research gives knowledge and knowledge is power!"

Falco's eye sudden twitched as he gave the human a strange look. "Did you just-"

"Also make sure to leave a kind word and review, you don't have to review every chapter but every once in a while is much appreciated. It really makes people happy to know that people are in fact reading their stuff, especially if it's a story you really enjoy who knows your review may lead to a sooner update!"

"Anything else we should know? Also what's the deal with your sporadic Hiatus statuses?"

"Nothing just sometimes I need a break you know what I mean? That's a good way to end I think. Writing is good and all but make sure it's not what you're completely centered around!" Zythxx smiled to the cheering audience and then back to the annoyed avian.

"That it?"

"Yea sure why the hell is your interview so different from Sanitarium's?"

"His was kind of just the start and basically showed the rest of us in FFSF what's up. So of course mine is going to be different in length and topics, it's just an interview you gotta relax man!"

"If anyone was to tell me to relax of course it would be you!" Falco face palmed himself as his hand slowly slipped down. "Anything else?"

"Make sure to branch out." Zythxx said seriously to the avian's surprise. "I publish my work on '' and '.' You'll find friends and viewers in both those places and often you'll see many other author's who dual post with these two sites. One is Hopeless-Tyronos himself."

"Thank you Zythxx…First time trying to write humor wasn't it?"

"Pretty much though I don't think I did as great as Sanitarium, but hey not bad for a first try right?"

"Meh you could have done-"The avian was interrupted by his personal opinion that wasn't really wanted as his seat suddenly jettisoned upwards as his girly screams were carried up with him. Zythxx only chuckled lightly to himself as he leaned back in his chair addressing the crowd.

"Well since my gracious host is no longer around I guess I'll take care of myself. Thank you all and one who are reading this and I hope you learned something about me or writing in general and good luck with your future projects! This is Zythxx until next time!" The human graciously waved as the crowd cheered on his departure. Hopefully he didn't screw up to bad with the interview. But it's alright all the human was concentrated now was relaxing until he felt like updating Star Fox High Reel Days as the viewers waited patiently or in some cases not so much.

_Author's Notes_

_Zythxx here and hey just like XxSanitariumxX did in the last chapter this is how I address my audience, see we all got a writing style eh? Hah_

_Anyway this was my section of the FFSF came up by XxSanitariumxX and I'm glad to be apart of it. This was my first time writing something a bit comical then what I'm use to writing so we'll see what you guys think._

_Guess I have nothing more to say as XxSanitariumxX pointed everything out last chapter. Maybe you'll see me again as this was a lot of fun and I hope it benefits people. Iif not then Until Next Time!_


	3. The Pen Vs The Sword

**A/N:** Greetings everyone. We've been asked to participate in this story/helpful guide and we're honored to be here. Since Sanitarium and Zythxx already covered erotica stories and details, we'll try to talk more about the writing process and any tips we can think of while touching on those two subjects. We'll be interviewed by Panther, mainly because it should add a bit of humor I think.

All Nintendo characters belong to Nintendo. All other character references belong to their respective copyright holders. Pen and Sword belong to me.

"Greetings," Panther welcomed the audience as he swiveled around in his chair to face them. He held a bundle of note cards in one hand while resting the other on his crossed leg after he had smoothed out his lavender suit and adjusted the black tie nearly choking his neck. "I am Panther, your host for this portion of the show. And we have three guests this time to interview. Please welcome to the stage the trio known as The Pen Vs The Sword."

Stepping out from behind the curtains came a rather plain human with no distinguishing characteristics except for deep, brown eyes to match his hair and a long patch of beard hair jutting from his bottom lip to his chin. He appeared to have been confused as to how formal the event would be, choosing an a laid back attire of dark jeans and a bright red polo pulled over a spotless undershirt.

But another figure rushed past him; a sword, for all intents and purposes. She- as everyone guessed since it had applied various forms of make-up- hopped into a chair, misjudging how sharp her tip was. She sank down into it, ripping the furniture neatly. When she tried to pry herself out, she found that she was stuck and called for assistance to someone who had yet to make himself known.

"Pen!" she yelled. "Get out here and help me!"

A skulking, sulking ballpoint pen threw aside the curtain, answering the call. Stomping past the human, who had already taken a seat, he yanked the sword out of the chair, grumbling at her eagerness to be the first one on stage.

"Hey, you were excited to come too!"

"No, I was not," the pen rebuked her. "I came to hopefully instill some actual advice into the cretins on this site."

"You promised you would be nice," the human warned him. The pen took a seat next to the sword, not paying any attention to her childish gestures or faces that she made towards him.

"The Pen Vs The Sword, Panther presumes?" Panther asked.

"In the flesh!" the sword nodded. "I'm Sword. Mr. Emo McSad Pants is Pen and that's the author over there!"

"Should I call you author or something else?" Panther questioned.

"Just Author is fine. Most people refer to me as that anyway. That or PVS, but Author might be easier."

"Well, let us get this interview started," Panther purred.

"Mmm, you have a sexy accent," Sword noted.

"Thank you," he grinned. "Perhaps later Panther and Sword can-"

"The interview?" Pen interrupted. "Remember that. Besides, she is mine."

At that, Sword threw herself at Pen, loudly proclaiming that he "admitted it". Panther, shaking his head at the unusual display, turned to Author and posed the first question to him. "First, what would you say about people getting ideas for stories? After all, one cannot write if they don't have an idea."

"True," Author nodded, sitting up in his chair. "I would say you can be inspired to write by anything. We usually use music, but books, movies, and just about anything else can inspire a person. Just look for anything you can use, even if you have to twist your mind around it. Everyone can be get an idea from anything, so go out and look for something to use."

"Alright," Panther said, discarding one of the cards and moving onto the next one. "What would you say someone should do before they start writing?"

"Well, have a clear picture in your mind of what the story will be about. Mainly the beginning, the ending, and some parts in between. If you're writing a chapter story, try to have a rough idea of the first five chapters. Also, try to know what kind of story you want to write- action, romance, horror- and how long it should be. You don't want to start writing a horror story and suddenly have a jarring shift to romance because you didn't plan it. Know what audience you're writing for, what they want, and what you want. It's a give and take sort of relationship. You give them what you want and what they want and they give you advice, requests of what to see, and word of mouth. Pretty basic stuff really."

"Any tips for someone writing their first story?"

"Like Sanitarium and Zythxx said before us, don't do an M rated story," Author said sternly, wagging his finger back and forth. "Mainly because a new writer doesn't have the experience to do it. Not to mention that it usually devolves into an immature mess of swearing, sex, and drugs."

"Woo-hoo!" Sword shouted, taking a break from clinging to Pen.

"But like I said, they already said everything on that subject. What I would encourage instead is to set limits on themselves."

"Panther does not follow," Panther shook his head. He leaned backwards, crossing his arms and staring at Author. "Would you care to explain?"

"Sure. Say you want to write an action piece. You could ask to take requests, but this will usually only come after you've gained rapport with the site's community. Instead, limit yourself to a PG or K+ rating. Or if you were to do a romantic piece, try setting the whole thing in one place. Or do some drabbles, setting a character limit. Or, like we do, try to work within the confines of a song that inspired the piece, using all of most of the lyrics instead of one that may have given you the idea to write."

"Panther thinks that he sees now," Panther grinned. He laid two more cards down on a nearby table and looked up at the Author. "Here is a tricky one. How should one start actually writing?"

"I can answer this!" Sword piped up again. "Just do what Stan Lee says he does!"

"Which is?"

"Just sit down and write!"

"She is actually right," Author agreed. "Don't get caught up in how to begin a story; just write. You can go back and fix it later if you want, but once you get your creative juices flowing, you'll find it hard to stop. If you really have no idea how to start it, use a different approach. Open with a character calling out to another, start in the middle of the story and work backwards, or, if you're writing a chapter story, just think of the new chapter as one of the normal scene skips you see in books. Just use whatever approach you like as long as it gets you writing."

"What materials would you suggest to a new writer?" Panther continued.

"Something to write with!" Sword answered first again. Pen smacked her, leading to her to punch him square in his clip.

"A thesaurus is handy to have. Don't go overboard, like saying 'the nebulous ebony piece of linen' when 'the midnight black blanket' will do. Just as it can be dangerous to be too simple, it can be just as bad to bore people by showing off that you have a thesaurus handy. Overall, just try to have an atmosphere where you feel comfortable writing."

"Any other tips for writing in general?"

"Effort," Pen finally spoke up. "Put effort into your stories. That means you must edit, spell check, and even have others read over it. If you do not put effort into your stories, why the hell should anyone put effort into reading them?"

"It's also the only way to guarantee that people will come back," Author added. "If you give your very best, people will come back to read more. It doesn't matter if you're not the best writer. Your readers will appreciate that you're trying as hard as you can. Your enjoyment of writing is important too, but so is entertaining the audience in whatever way and with whatever you present by offering up the best you have. By putting effort into it, you'll slowly learn from mistakes and critiques and become better as time goes on. It's difficult, but it's also the most sure-fire way to promote your material. There are other ways to get the word out about your stories."

"Such as?" Panther tilted his head.

"Well, we usually write for deviant art and fiction press. Post anywhere and everywhere. Don't limit yourself to just fan fiction either, although you may want to just start here for a while. Join communities, make friends, offer stories to be added to groups and archives, review other stories in exchange for reviews. Just be as active and social as you possibly can."

"How do new authors gain experience and their own writing styles?" Panther read from the next card. "Specifically, other than just writing and listening to reviews."

Author leaned back in his chair and pulled on the hair near his chin, his eyes wandering around the studio. "A new author could also try writing something they've never done or didn't think they could do before. We used to write action and adventure pieces, but tried our hand at romance. As you can see, we became better at it and we've been able to integrate action and adventure into some stories. They should also read and experience as much story telling as possible. Read stories on fan fiction or books, even some that you normally wouldn't to gain a vast knowledge of different writing styles. Broaden your scope of story telling and include anything you can think of too."

"Panther has a question of his own."

"Shoot."

The dark feline pointed to Sword and Pen, who sat bickering as usual in their chairs. "What are they? A gimmick? Some sort of hook?" he inquired as Sword coated her finger in saliva and jammed it into Pen's ear.

"Metaphors really," Author shrugged. "Friends too. Co-owners of the pen name. And they do help a little to stand out. That doesn't mean that everyone do something like this. You need to find your own unique way to stand apart from everyone else- short of being a pompous twit, of course. Otherwise, you're just copying others. At least add something if you do take a leaf from someone else's book. For example, those two," he jerked his head, "were inspired by Kal0-and-Summer, our pen name, and famous comedic duos while still being their own persons."

"Alright," Panther nodded. "But back to writing-"

"Oh, of course," Author said, scratching his head thoughtfully. "Well, when you're writing, you should also picture yourself in the character's shoes. What do they see, smell, hear, feel, and taste? Try acting out the scene if it helps, which can also assist in keeping the characters in character," he finished, emphasizing the last two words and grimacing.

"Panther is sensing some hostility," Panther said, laying the cards down on his slacks for a moment. "Would you care to elaborate."

"Sure. One of the two most important things to remember is keeping characters in character. There are different interpretations, like some people seeing Fox as brave and steadfast while others view him as cocky and overconfident. But I'm mainly referring to depictions where people write about how Fox became an alcoholic, Krystal is suicidal, or Sonic is doing drugs and uses everyone as sexual objects. That is not normal for the characters!" he pointed out, becoming more excitable by the moment.

"So-"

"So," Author interrupted, "if you write about Slippy 'doing drugs as usual', there had better be an 'Ever since' beginning the next sentence or you had better dump a lot of back story on us. Because that isn't normal for the characters. Stories taking place in alternate universes are usually explained and described in great detail of how they're different. Even though Nintendo pushes the Fox and Krystal pairing, people still explain how they came to be together. So why the hell do these people writing these stories about normally king characters dropping the f bomb like it's on their word of the day calendars, killing people when they normally wouldn't, and doing drugs think they are exempt from all of this? These aren't your characters. You're borrowing them, so treat them with respect."

"Personally," Pen started as Author finished up, simmering in his chair after his short tirade, "I believe those writers actually have real skill. Some do write just for shock value because they have no idea on how to actually write a story, yes, but others do have the skill. However, these stories would be better suited for original characters. It is not wise to bastardize characters you do not own to suit it. Some writers we have talked to even agree that their stories would be better off without using official characters."

"I see," Panther said. "Why would people do this, other than shock value?"

"I can only think of two reasons," Pen replied, holding up a matching set of fingers. "One, because they are comfortable to write anything in that universe and love the characters. In that case, they should just use original characters and, even though I do not care for them, I would encourage it. And two, they write the characters in to foist an original story onto people who might never read it in order to gain views and recognition rather than let it stand on its own merits. That is just despicable and disrespectful for the creators and everyone who wanted to read it. If you are going to drastically change the characters, make sure it is plausible and detail the change extensively."

"I would suggest reading 'Secret Affair' by KittyNakajimaX and Kawaii Sonikku," Author suggested, having calmed down slightly. "It's a perfect example of changing two main characters greatly, but in a realistic way that still stays true to their characters. That last part may be subjective, but it's much better than just writing 'Fox screwed Krystal and began calling her a slut' for no reason."

"Even if you are a good writer, failing to explain character changes or keeping them in character makes it a bad story and you a bad author," Pen offered.

"What is the difference?" Panther asked.

"Writing is the process of actually writing out the story," Pen explained. "An author manages the story, plot, and characters. You are both, but they are two different areas. At least in my eyes."

"Come up with that on the spot?" Sword teased.

"No," Pen lied. "Anyway, it still makes it a bad story in ours, and I am sure other people's, eyes. You are not writing the characters at that point if you have not explained their change."

"Can we move on?" Author pleaded. "It was good to let that out since I hold it in so much when I do see those stories because I don't want to just let loose on them like that- even if I desperately want to in order to get it through their head-, but I'm sure you have more questions."

"Yes, I do," Panther said, resuming his reading of the note cards. "Unless you have something more to add about writing?"

Author stroked his chin once more before speaking. "Nothing except that you should take your time with it. Don't rush yourself. Try to write a few pages at most a day and let it sit there and stew about in your mind in case you think of something to change. As far as details, like the others said, just avoid using too much or too little detail. Same goes with the dialogue. You'll have varying lengths of both and if you get caught up worrying about it, you'll never get the story finished. Get it out there, ask what others think, and improve upon your next one."

"In fact," Author continued, propping up one leg like Panther, "think of your story as a painting. You don't want to use only one or two colors, but if you use too much, you'll have a brown, disgusting mess. This can apply to large words, details, dialogue, or any aspect."

"Very well," Panther said, setting aside another card. "What would you say to remember about original characters?"

"First and foremost, give them a flaw," Author answered. "And I don't mean that the character doesn't think they look good or something ridiculous like that. Take Falco for example. Great pilot, but he's cocky and overconfident, which lands him into trouble. Wolf lets his desires of revenge get the best of him and Pigma is greedy and dishonest to a fault. Create a 'god character' and nobody will like them. For example, one of my characters has electric powers, but he's a coward in a fight and breaks the law by stealing, even though he does it survive. Another lets his love get in the way of rationale. If they're playing a large part in the story, give them a flaw."

"Alright."

"Also," Author added, "make sure you let people know if a story will focus on your OC, or original character. If your summary says that Fox plays a big part and your OC is more or less along for the ride to help out, focus on Fox because that's what people expect. It should center around him unless otherwise stated."

"Avoid self-inserts as well, as the others have already said," Pen chipped in.

"But you should write what you know!" Sword corrected him. "So it's okay to add parts of your life into a story. It can help make it more real at times!"

"What about reviews and these so-called flamers?" Panther asked.

"Take reviews and any constructive criticism seriously," Author said. "People who take the time out to review your story, even if you ask them, obviously see your potential and just want to help you improve."

"Ignore flamers!" Sword exclaimed. "These people are jerk-meanies!"

"Yes, because there will always be those who flame or hate for no reason," Author nodded. "Also, you'll want to large ignore those who only insult and give harsh criticisms with no actual advice. They insult and think they're a godsend to the writing world, but they have many flaws too. No one is better than anyone else here, but they fail to see that. Besides, if you're lucky like us, those people will soon declare that you are dead to them and ignore you."

"Panther is surprised," the feline said.

"It's normal and quite alright to get angry. We were when we had someone insult us like that. But we've done our best to get over it. We still get angry from time to time, but we just figure it's better to just keep moving on. To be honest, we only to say ignore those reviews for the most part because when we took the advice of someone who left us one on a story and used it in the next chapter, everyone else who had been reading it so far hated it. So we kept bits of the advice in mind, but changed it back since the numbers, and majority, don't lie. But let's move on rather than re-open old wounds."

"Is there anything important to always remember?" Panther asked, reading the last note card in his hand.

"Besides the 'in character' thing from before, have emotion while writing," Author said, turning his attention to the audience this time. "You can be the most technically proficient writer in the world, but without emotion, it won't grab anyone. You must have passion, emotion, and be into the story. Even if you have poor grammar like we do or lack descriptive detail, emotion leaps off the pages and holds the readers tightly. Passion is what keeps people coming back because they will sense it emanating from you and be drawn to the story. This applies to characters too. Show their emotions, their thoughts. Make them real and make your readers care for them and feel the same as they do. Otherwise, no one will care to read it. At the end of the day, I would rather read a grammatically incorrect story with several mistakes, but with a lot of emotion, than a grammatically correct, picture perfect story that is soul less."

"Panther is all out of cards," Panther said, tossing the last one onto the table. "Would you like to add anything else?"

"Make sure to have fun!" Sword cried, clapping her hands together. "It'll do all the stuff emotion will too! Don't be afraid to ask for help from others either! And especially don't be afraid of making mistakes. We all make mistakes! No one is perfect. Just do your best!"

"Improve your writing by learning from mistakes and mistakes made by others," Pen said, crossing his arms.

"And don't worry if your first or first several stories aren't up to par with what you want them to be. Don't sweat that you didn't add a simile here or think there's too much dialogue there. You'll get better with time and the more you write," Author smiled. "Don't be concerned if your hit counters don't take off at first either. Ours didn't when we first started. It's a long, slow road at times, but you'll get there."

"Also," Author said, his eyes lighting up as something occurred to him, "and this is some excellent advice we received recently and have been trying to use, don't describe actions too much. For example, instead of saying 'Fox ducked behind the corner to hide from the sentries, not out of fear, but to plan a way around them.' try 'Fox ducked behind the corner to hide from the sentries. He needed to find a way around them and fast'. Both convey the same message that Fox is still brave, but he's trying to find a way around the sentries. Not the best example, but I think everyone has the idea."

"Now, Panther is still interested in possibly escorting Sword on a date," the dark feline whispered in Sword's ear. She giggled and wrapped an arm around his, all while waving farewell to Pen, who sat with his mouth agape in his chair.

"That dirty, woman stealing-" Pen gritted his teeth in anger and dashed off after them, leaving Author by himself.

"Er, I better go 'd like to thank Sanitarium for inviting us. We're really humbled by how highly he must've thought of us to extend an invitation," Author grinned, giving a short bow to the audience members. "We hope this helped you in some way or you at least found it an interesting read. Just message any of the guests here or Sanitarium if you would like to talk or have a question on something that has or hasn't been covered." With that, he exited to the same side that the others had, quickening his pace near the end.

_**~X~X~X~X~X~**_

_**Bravo PVS, bravo. That's exactly what I wanted! Very informative, not preachy, and all round perfect. Great job! Thank**_** you_ for being a part of this._  
><strong>

_**Oh, and Zythxx… you mad? Problem? Lol! But in all seriousness, I named this collaboration the Fanfiction Superfriends for a reason… to be a troll!**_

_**XxSanitariumxX**_


	4. chaos Leader

Author Notes:

Hi there, chaos_Leader here. I went ahead and wrote something for this whatchamacallitdoohickey thing that Sanitarium assembled. He was gracious enough to let it appear here for your amusement, entertainment, and quite possibly enlightenment. My interview was conducted by none other than the ever-enigmatic James McCloud. Don't expect any spoilers from him though, he's not the one being interviewed.

Before we begin, I'd like to remind the audience that the use of photography and other recording means are strictly prohibited, and to please take this time to turn your cell-phone off. Should you need to exit the theater before the end of the interview, the house staff will re-seat you when you return at an appropriate interval. Thank you, and enjoy the show.

/

/

The lights came up on the stage, revealing a simple setup of two chairs and a small table in front of a dark curtain. In one of the chairs was a fox with cinnamon brown fur tone, wearing forest green flight suit with a white jacket, and a pair of dark sunglasses over his eyes.

"The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." he said with a smirk, and a few chuckles wafted from the audience. "Hey there everyone, how are you all doing? I'm Jim McCloud, or _James_ if you're feeling fancy, and got roped into doing this for tonight's guest. Please welcome, chaos_Leader."

The fox gestured toward offstage, and a figure soon entered from there. He had a paler, roundish face that tapered to a point at his chin, from which a thin chinstrap beard started and followed his jawline. He dressed fairly casually in a pair of carpenter's pants and steel-toed workboots, with the sleeves of his gray sweater rolled up to the elbows. He waived to the audience as he passed, and they gave chaos_Leader a polite round of applause just as he sat down in the chair opposite James.

"If Sanitarium is out there somewhere, I'm pretty sure you are..." chaos_Leader began as he peered into the audience, "I'd like to start off by thanking him for the opportunity to be here with you all tonight. I haven't really interacted with the fanfiction fandom nearly as much as I should have, and I hope to start changing some of that this evening."

"Speaking of Sanitarium," James began, "What was he thinking, or smoking, when coming up with the name for this shindig?"

"I don't know. I think it's kinda cute and whimsy; keeps the atmosphere loose and informal. I mean, what fun is it doing interviews with a bunch stuck-up tightwads? Come on, let's kick back and relax a little." chaos_Leader said as he reclined back in his chair, "Besides, I think the others have already ranted enough about the name. No need to beat a dead horse."

"Fair enough." the fox gave a nod, "Let's kick things off here with a little background."

"Alright, but I'll to try to keep this short." chaos mentioned, "We're supposed to be doing some kind of 'help the aspiring fanfic writers thing' after all."

"A lot of the fanfic writers here have done many, _many_ stories, sometimes dozens. Often their first story is on one topic, and their next switches to another topic entirely. You can usually trace a writer's development progress by the steadily improving quality of each newer story..." James turned to his guest, peering through his dark glasses, "You on the other hand seem to have stuck with just one: _Star Fox: Legacy._ Could you tell us what that's about?"

chaos_Leader stopped a moment and looked up, exhaling a thoughtful sigh before beginning, "I first got into writing fanfiction basically to tell one story: the backstory of the Star Fox series. I'd been lurking around the archives here for a few months back in 08 and saw the usual stock of fanfics. One thing I noticed very quickly was how pretty much nobody was writing backstory fics; how the world of Star Fox got to where it was in the games. Most of what I saw jumped straight in at some point after one of the games, and took it from there in all sorts of directions."

"That doesn't seem too unreasonable." the fox mentioned, "People start from what they know and build off from there."

"Look, Jim..." chaos_Leader interrupted, "You have to understand, I actually wasn't all that into Star Fox in the first place."

"That so?"

"I'd played the games and enjoyed them, but never really gave them much thought until after I'd taken a Science Fiction Lit. class, and then a Classic Lit. class in high school, both from thoroughly awesome teachers to whom I owe a _ton_. With the tools I picked up from those classes and others, I started thinking a little more about Star Fox, absentmindedly analyzing the whole thing for its little bits and pieces. Long story short: I had a 'Eureka!' moment, and started on what eventually evolved into _Star Fox: Legacy_..." he gazed out somewhere over the audience for a moment, "Looking back on it, _Legacy_ has evolved far beyond anything I'd first imagined, and in almost all good ways."

"How's that?" James asked, "Can you give us an example?"

"I can talk about experience writing Romance, since I feel this was, my greatest leap forward in developing my writing technique..." chaos_Leader shifted in the chair, furrowing his brow a little before he started, "I used to be scared to death of writing romance. I'd seen so many cheesy, over-the-top, insert-disgusting-adjectives-here lemons around these archives, and so few 'good' examples I could draw from... I didn't know where to start, and yet, I knew romance would be a necessary part of _Legacy _if I was going to write a comprehensive backstory that involved you and some other fine lady who'd eventually produce our one-and-only Fox McCloud."

"Vixy, you mean."

"Yep," chaos_Leader nodded, "What few backstory fics I found usually jumped right in when you two were already happily married, and often had little Fox there too. Well... How did you two meet? What was your relationship like? What happened when little Fox came around? These are all questions that have rarely been addressed in any detail by the fandom. You'll often see these aspects covered in Fox/Krystal/Marcus situations, but the games conveniently set up the first meeting there, and some of the later relationship bits. With you and Vixy though, we've got a whole lot of nothing, which means the writer pretty much has to pull off an entire romance arc from raw scratch, or leave it vague. For _Legacy, _I decided I was going to take the plunge, and get you two together 'properly'."

"And what was that experience like?"

"Like riding a giant roller coaster: terrifying, thrilling, exhilarating and occasionally nauseating."

"Nauseating?" James snapped back through an offended scowl, "That is my _wife_ you're talking about."

chaos_Leader gave a small chuckle before replying, "You remember my first ever stabs the romance between you two?"

The fox sank back and shuddered, "Yeah I... try to forget."

"Case in point: _nauseating._"

James made a small grimacing face and maybe rolled his eyes, but he still had his shades on, "But you said you _used_ to be scared to death of writing romance. So for everyone out there, could you tell us how you overcome that fear?" he gestured out to the audience,

"Uh, yeah..." chaos_Leader turned out, sifting his attention through the audience, "One of the biggest things I did was watch a _ton_ of romance films; chick-flicks. Using these as my references, I took mental notes of the conventions and tropes of story romance –which are somewhat different than _actual_ relationships– borrowed bits and pieces from what I found, and applied them to your relationship with Vixy in _Legacy_. Apparently, I got pretty damned good at writing non-lemony romance, at least according the people who reviewed and said so. But even now, I still find it a precarious balancing act that's more than a little tricky to pull off."

James turned aside to the audience as well, "For all you guys and gals watching, this right here is a _prime_ example of stealing ideas from other sources, and then using them to great effect in your own work. It works with literally _every _genre out there: Drama, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Thiller, Action, Comedy– you name it."

chaos_Leader turned out to the audience as well, "Keep in mind though, I can't really tell you _exactly_ how to do this, no one can, because everyone is different, and will have different methods that work for them. The best thing you can do for yourself as an aspiring writer, no matter what aspect you're working to improve, is simply to try things out: throw a bunch of stuff at the wall and see what sticks. You just might surprise yourself."

"I'd like to ask you another question about _Legacy,_" the fox said, moving on, "one many others in the audience may be asking as well."

"Okay, shoot."

"Why the hell did you scrap your story, _twice,_ and start it completely new from scratch?" James asked, "Most writers would've slogged through it to the bitter end and started something new."

"This goes back again to the reason I'm writing fanfiction in the first place: my goal was and still is to tell that one story. Sometimes that means making significant changes..."  
>chaos_Leader's brow scrunched up, and he started scratching his head as he shifted in the chair.<p>

"To answer the question specifically, it was something called 'Arc Fatigue': when a story that usually starts off pretty good is dragged on and on and on some more to the point where the readers are going _'get on with it already!'_ The readers want something to happen, but the writer has it all stuck in the mud, spinning-out and going nowhere. I ran into this problem when I started getting pretty comfortable writing _Legacy. _It was after I'd gotten about thirty chapters and 150 thousand words in when I looked back at my older work, and thought to myself _I wrote this crap? _I was okay with that, writers improve over time, and so did I by leaps and bounds. The thing that got to me though is when I found I wasn't really going forward with my story anymore, but instead trying to use the new chapters to patch up my less than great work from before. It frustrated me, because that meant I couldn't really move on to the meat of the plot until I yanked myself out of the mud. And that's when I threw up my arms and yelled _'Screw it! We'll start the whole damn thing over from square one, again!'_ And I did. Now there's an older 'archived edition' of _Star Fox: Legacy, _while the version I'm actively working on is finally at a point where I can look at the whole thing, even the beginning, and be satisfied with what I'm writing."

"Doesn't that seem a little obsessive compulsive?" the older fox asked, "Zythxx mentioned in an earlier interview about his laid-back _'have fun with it'_ approach, and this whole scraping and starting again thing you do doesn't seem to fall under that at all."

"And Zythxx also said that people are different, and so have different motivations for writing." chaos_Leader retorted, "Believe it or not, I too write because it's fun; where Zythxx finds his fun in kicking back and taking it easy, I find my fun in confronting storytelling challenges, and overcoming them by any and all means necessary. It's like the difference between hiking and rock climbing: both are fun and rewarding in their own right, some people simply enjoy scaling the cliffs."

"So does this mean you're some kind of ruthless Grammar-Nazi?" James asked, slightly jokingly.

"No Jim, that's something _completely _different..." chaos_Leader let out a quiet laugh and shook his head, "Grammar, language, and all the nuts-and-bolts of storytelling will mostly take care of themselves with use, study and practice. They are simply _tools,_ not the end product made by using the tools. You can still make a profound, deeply moving piece with poor tools and clumsy technique, but you _will_ have a much easier time if you know how to use these tools. Similarly, someone with excellent technique can still produce something bland and boring if they're not ambitious enough, if they don't 'capture that spark'. What gets _really_ fun though is when you have a strong enough command of your tools that you can get inventive with them, and use them in unexpected or intriguing ways.

"As always, there is a balancing act to consider: lean too far in either direction, and you're liable to fall right off. I've seen it happen before and it's never pretty. You also can't allow yourself to be intimidated, not by anything, or anyone. You really _have _to have the confidence to go out there onto those limbs; whether it's writing something you've never tried before, reading something you're not sure about, talking with someone you don't know, or even taking criticism."

"Taking criticism..." James chewed over the words, curious, "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh boy..." chaos_Leader stopped and let himself think for a few moments, scratching through the beard on his chin before moving on, "When I was first starting off, there was one reviewer who would _always_ pick apart my writing and pound me again and again with the horrible writing fallacies I had committed. He wasn't a flamer, just really forward and insistent, and I mostly did deserve the harsh treatment I got from this reviewer. I was a stuck-up, arrogant little scrap back in the day, and I sincerely believe this reviewer did me a huge service by knocking me down a few pegs, letting me reexamine my work, and thus see it for the crap it truly was. He is one of the main reasons I first went back, scrapped the very first edition of _Legacy,_ and started fresh. I don't regret it one bit...

"Having said that however, there comes a point, typically after some sizable measure of development, where you'll be better off if you stand up to the well-meaning yet hard-nosed reviewer and tell them 'No'. You've made choice X, and you're going to stick with it, because you have put careful time and consideration into making choice X and you know what you're doing with it. If you take this approach and can back it up reasonably well, your harsh reviewer will often understand and leave it there (_actual_ flamers are a different matter though). If you're confident enough in the decisions you've made, and _not_ simply out of spite against the harsh review, then there is no reason to change your work."

"Listen to your reviewers and consider what they tell you, no matter how harsh or unfair they may seem (they often mean well), but do _not_ be ruled by them. If you do make a change, make sure that it's _your _decision, not just someone else's demand. We all have our own methods, and measure success in different ways."

"I swear, that line is becoming something of a running gag here." James said, rubbing his forehead and shaking his head. "_Everyone _says something like that."

"Would you say you're _peeved _by it?" chaos_Leader asked with an obnoxious grin on his face.

"Hey, _I'm_ doing the interview, _I_ get to do the groaner segues." James insisted.

"Okay, Jim." chaos_Leader said with a shrug, "Take it away."

"Pet peeves..." the fox began, "I take it you got'em?"

"Oh do I _ever..._" chaos_Leader began, "The one that _always _gets to me, that I can't see _any _way to make work, is the is the use of real wold references. One example I see fairly often is the AK-47 assault rifle, plopped right there in the world of Star Fox, even when there aren't any humans in sight. The AK-47 is officially known as the _Avtomat Kalashnikova_, designed by Russian Mikhail Kalashnikov in the 1940s, and it has a history of its own that pertains _only_ to our Earth. Whenever I see a real world reference like this in a Star Fox fanfic, it immediately tells me that the writer is 1) lazy, and/or 2) unimaginative. I can understand that it's convenient to copy examples from the world we know and paste them straight into Star Fox for the sake of familiarity, but come _on_ people, show a little creativity! Even if for all intents and purposes the thing you have in the Star Fox world is _exactly_ the same as something from Earth, give it a different name at least. Show the readers that no matter how similar the world of Star Fox is to our own world, that it is still someplace else..."  
>chaos_Leader at last exhaled a deep sigh, and sank into the chair, head supported in his hand and elbow resting on the arm of his chair.<p>

"Got that off your chest alright?" James asked, partly teasing.

"Yeah."

"You're not gonna rip someone's head off over it or anything?"

"Nope, I'm good."

"You sure?"

chaos_Leader didn't say anything, but gave James a certain _look _that said without words, "I'm through with your games, now let's move on, before I _do _rip someone's head off."

"Right then, we're just about out of time." the fox said, glancing somewhere offstage, "Any parting words for us, chaos?"

"You know, I think I'll let you have the honors, with one of your more famous lines..."

"Never give up, trust your instincts?"

"That's the one!"

"It's such a corny line."

"But that corn got me through a _ton_ of tough writing times, and it's true." and chaos_Leader elaborated, "Whenever in doubt, just go with your gut feeling. It's right more often than you'd think, and it got me where I am today."

"You mean _'ignored and under-appreciated'_?" James McCloud mocked, "That's why you went ahead and did this, right? As some sort of huge publicity stunt and shameless advertising opportunity?"

chaos_Leader crossed his arms over his chest, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, sure, whatever you say." the fox said with a completely insincere shrug.

"I suppose if some of the people watching tonight happen to pop their noggins into _Star Fox: Legacy, _and maybe leave a review or two, I wouldn't object. And besides, some of the best ways we learn are by example..." chaos_Leader looked over at James, who simply looked back with his cocky little smirk that knew better, "Don't look at me like that Jim, I'm trying to _help_ these people!"

"Well that about does it for tonight..." the fox said, standing up from the chair and turning out toward the audience as he crossed to center stage, "If I understand correctly, Sanitarium is gonna be gone for a while, which means this'll be the last you'll hear from the _Star Fox Fanfiction SuperFriends_ for some time–"

chaos_Leader had jumped up and butted in, right next to McCloud, "And don't be afraid to go ahead and chat with any of the 'higher ups' in the fanfictiondom; _any_ of us. There's plenty more than just the three stooges that came before me, and we don't bite..." but after a moment of reconsideration, "Okay, maybe _some_ of usbite, but–"

James cut him short, shoving him off to one side, "This is Jim McCloud, saying to you all out there: don't ever give up, and always trust in your instincts."

The lights went dark again, and chaos_Leader and James McCloud exited in the dark.

/

/

Author Notes:

Okay, I did try to branch off and cover some topics that were a bit neglected by our previous guests. I didn't mean for it to go off in a huge history ramble but hey, I made sure they were _relevant,_ and that's important. I was very heavily inspired in this by watching _Inside the Actor's Studio_ with James Lipton, and had one of the shows playing in the background as I wrote this (see: _more_ stealing from outside sources, just like I said in the interview, ha!). If I happened to seem perhaps be a little more on the whimsy side than I normally am, it's probably because I was channeling the one and only Robin Williams, since it was the episode _he_ appeared on that I was watching.

Take care, everybody!

_**~X~X~X~X~X~**_

_**Huh… apparently I'm a stooge. You learn something new every day. So lucky I have a sense of humor and didn't replace every other word with penis chaos. Oh you're so lucky. So much shameless advertising... yet I'm one to talk :p and yes, I am leaving. Go U.S.N.!**_


	5. Cpt Fox

**Hello everyone. This is my little addition to XxSanitariumxX's story called "The Fanfiction Superfriends" which is a great title...anyway I'm not quite sure what to talk about so I guess I'll follow the previous patterns and interview myself from the point of view of my favorite character concerning my uh...strengths in writing. **

**000 Here goes...**

"Hello to everyone out there in the StarFox Fanfiction community, my name is Krystal and I'm here with the writer known as who has agreed to answer a few questions that I have set aside for him."

The teenager curtly nodded at the vixen, shaking her hand and sitting down beside her. He was skinny and tall with a head full of hair, wearing cargo shorts and an red Old Navy t-shirt. He cast a wary glance around the room before finally returning his gaze to the sapphire fox before him.

"Nice to meet you," he said, forcing a calm, stern tone.

"And the same to you . But would you mind if I just called you Captain? I wouldn't want the readers getting you confused with the _real _Fox."

"No problem."

"All right then!" she exclaimed, smiling and nodding at him before looking down at a piece of paper she had in her lap, "Let's jump right into the interview. First off, what would you say is your strong point when it comes to writing Fanfiction, specifically that of StarFox?"

The human took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair, not wanting to say anything that would make him look like a complete idiot. "Well...when it comes to writing I'd say I'm at my best when I'm setting up drama."

The vixen raised an eyebrow at him and leaned forward, resting her paws under her chin, "Care to give us an example?"

"S-sure..." he answered, closing one eye and frantically searching his mind, "Well, in my story 'For Her' StarWolf ambushed you guys on a scouting mission and picked you to pieces. Everyone managed to get away except you and Fox and it was only a matter of time before they would stop toying with him and finish the job."

The vixen had bit her lower lip and he could see the anger in her eyes as she remembered the completely one-sided battle all over again.

"But Panther gave you a choice," he went on, pulling the vixen back to the conversation, "He promised to let Fox survive if you would join him on StarWolf."

"And I did," she answered softly, shaking her head.

"Yes, and we all know why Panther wanted you. So basically it was a race against time for Fox who had to get back to you before Panther had his way."

Krystal shook her head clear of the thoughts and looked back up at the writer, "Okay, point proven. That was a good example. So basically what you are saying is that you make the readers think something terrible is going to happen and give the hero, in this case Fox, a chance to stop it."

"Exactly," he replied. "If you want readers to continue following a story then you need to make it suspenseful. I know they seem to hate them, but cliffhangers are an author's strongest weapon when it comes to keeping people wanting more."

She leaned back in her chair and put a paw to her chin, thinking for a second before continuing. "So first piece of advice to new writers, put some drama in there, keep the readers on their toes and wanting more. Suspense is key to every story."

He nodded in agreement, glad that both he and the sapphire fox were on the same page. "You've got to grab their attention. I'm not saying detail isn't important, because it is, but you've got to find a way to incorporate that detail in such a way that it doesn't bore the reader."

"Okay next question. What genre do you prefer to write for?"

The human blushed and looked at the floor, finding his black Nike's rather interesting all of the sudden. Krystal smirked and looked him over resting her paw on his knee and causing him to jerk up in surprise, getting a chuckle from her and the audience.

"There's no reason to be nervous around me, regardless of what you write."

The human sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, looking up at the ceiling before finally coming up with an answer. "Romance, maybe Hurt/Comfort as well."

"Mhmm." the vixen answered, the small smirk still on her face, "What provoked you to write stories around those genres?"

There was a moment of silence as he searched his mind for an answer other than the one that he knew was correct. But as the seconds passed and his thoughts continued to come up with nothing he finally gave in and mumbled his answer.

"You."

"What's that?"

"You are," Captain repeated, shaking his head and looking away. "When you were first introduced into the StarFox saga I knew that Fox would fall for you and I felt like could write about that better than anything else."

"That's so sweet," she replied, a sincere tone on her voice as she smiled at him, "I'm flattered, I really am. But please don't stop there, tell us how you do it."

"Do what?"

"Write these great romance fics about me and Fox."

"Well they are hardly great," he answered, leaning forward as well and resting his elbows on his knees and folding his arms, "But the way I go about it, the way I will most always go about it, will usually involve you and him still getting to know each other shortly after Adventures takes place. I like to take the persona that Fox had at the end of that story, being nervous and shy around you, and keep it going in my stories. Whereas you are usually a bit more quiet and collected, but still feel that same nervousness around him as well."

The smallest indication of a blush had appeared on the sapphire fox's face but she ignored it and kept the conversation going, "So you kind of let the reader know how we feel about each other right off from the start?"

"Well I like to assume that anyone, having played the games or just having a general knowledge of StarFox, knows that you two have a thing for each other."

The blush became more evident and Krystal looked away for a moment, hiding the grin that his words had pushed onto her face. "And while doing this," she answered, looking back at him and brushing away one of her locks of hair, "Do you ever add any personal attributes to your characters?"

"Yes I do. And I've actually gotten ripped on it from a couple of reviews but I suppose that cant be helped."

"Care to explain?"

The human shrugged and took a deep breath, "I've gotten bad feedback on some occasions because of how I tend to give Fox, and yourself in some cases, this pessimistic attitude. Like making one of you, or both, think that you don't have a chance at being with the other. Of course I use this pessimism to set up my own kind of drama, but some readers don't like it at all, and will say so in their reviews."

"Well you cant please everyone," she answered before leaning forward and saying in a softer tone, "And to be honest, I never thought I'd have a chance in the world with someone as perfect as Fox."

"Yeah well he thinks the same thing about you," Captain added in a softer tone where she could barely hear him.

"So to clarify once again; writing romance stories can go many ways but you prefer to focus on me and Fox, using our feelings for each other and nervousness in order to set up dramatic situations."

He once again nodded in agreement, surprised that she was so good at summarizing it. "In a nutshell, yes."

"All right. So the advice here is to romance writers. Pick your couple(s) and go about it the best way you know how to get them together," the vixen continued, "One more big question and we'll end things with a few small, personal ones."

"Okay."

"Overall what is the one piece of advice that you would give to a new writer? That is after all, what these interviews are for."

He placed his hand on his forehead and thought hard about that question. He thought back to when he himself was new to writing fanfiction and all the questions that had been swirling around in his 17 year old head.

_Hell I've only been writing for a few years, what can I say that will help anyone? I'm no smarter than anyone else, and I'm definitely nowhere near the perfect writer. There really is nothing extremely helpful I can say to anyone other than what I've been telling myself this whole time._

"The only advice I can give a writer," he finally muttered, "be they young, old, male, female, is to follow their heart. I know it sounds stupid and cliché, like something you'd see in a Hallmark card, but that's all I've got. You don't write fanfiction because a teacher or professor assigns it to you, its not homework, its done out of free will. Why else would anyone write _anything?_ I mean sure there may be some people who are paid to write stories for other people who get to pick what happens, but that's not from the heart of the writer, it wont feel the same when you read it."

The blue vixen remained silent and he decided to go a little further, "I don't care if you are halfway across the world and know the most broken form of English known to man, if you can write your story from your heart and express yourself through that story, then in my opinion it is worth reading. And to all you out there who ever plan to review someone elses story, take this small piece of advice: Leave helpful reviews. It doesn't matter how stupid or irrelevant a story is, or how badly it is written, leaving a bad review will only do two things. One, hurt the writers feelings and make them feel bad (trust me, I've received my fair share of flamers) and two, make you look bad in front of others and give you bad karma (yeah I believe in Karma.)

"Well that seems like good advice to me," Krystal finally replied, smiling at him. "Follow your heart, write what you feel and you'll enjoy it more than you ever imagined possible."

Once again he was surprised at her ability to so perfectly summarize all that he had said and he wondered if he should have just said that rather than the long ass rant, but it was too late now. (because typed text cant be removed right?)

"Exactly," he answered, nodding and returning her smile.

"Okay well that covers some of the main stuff, I can only hope that this is what XxSanitariumxX was looking for in this interview."

"What?" Captain exclaimed, sitting up in surprise, "You mean you didn't know what questions to ask? He didn't tell you anything?"

The vixen giggled and shrugged, "Oh c'mon, I think we did rather well already."

"Well I'm not retyping this so he can take it or leave it." Captain retorted, returning her smile and crossing his legs, "So anything else you want from me?"

"Just a few little questions," she replied, picking up the same piece of paper, "I actually wrote these down from previous PM's and reviews you've gotten."

"Wait..how'd you see my PM's..."

"First off, do you plan on ever finishing the alternate ending to For Her?"

"Yeah maybe. I think most people are happy with the original ending and, well, to be honest the alternate ending was only for the people who wanted to, er...well...see you get...er...*cough*...raped." At this point the human had turned red and was looking entirely at the floor, Krystal's annoyed gaze resting on him for a few seconds before falling back down to the list.

"I see. Next question; are you doing anything special for certain holidays concerning your stories?"

"Yes." he replied, grateful for a question that was off the previous topic, "I've got a one-shot in mind for a few of them and I believe I'll just add them to my Krystmas Oneshot, sort of a collection of holiday oneshots."

"What was the Krystmas Oneshot about again?"

"Well," Captain started, not wanting to give away too much information, "It involves you, Fox, and a trip to Corneria the day before Christmas. Its your first Christmas away from your family and Cerenia so Fox tries to make it easier on you and things keep clicking until finally..."

"Got it." the vixen interrupted, imagining what would happen as she had so many times before.

"One more," she said, tossing the list over her shoulder, "What is your opinion on the name of these interviews? Its clear that Zythxx and chaos leader disapprove, what about you?"

"Honestly? I think its hilarious, meant to cause a few laughs and draw the readers in for a glance. I'm glad to be a part of it and in the same presence as other amazing writers."

With that being said the vixen nodded and clasped her paws together, "Well, I guess that's it. I hope we didn't do too bad. Is there anything you'd like to add?"

Captain shook his head, standing and holding out a hand towards the vixen. "I've said what's in my heart, that's all I can do."

The vixen looked at his hand for a moment before smiling and stepping forward, wrapping her arms around his neck, the hug causing the human to instantly stiffen in surprise.

"In Broken," she whispered in his ear, "Thanks for that."

As the shock faded and the words set in he allowed a grin to cross his face, returning the hug before answering, "No problem..."

They stepped apart, meeting the others gaze for a moment before sharing a laugh. "So that's it. Here's another addition to the Fanfiction SuperFriends, whether or not its what you were looking for, well that's up to the submitter, but I'm sure that Captain told us exactly what he wanted any new readers to hear."

_I'm not a great writer, how I got thrown into this list I will never know, but I will ALWAYS be willing to help any of you when I can. I will beta read any story and offer my opinion and feedback to the best of my abilities. Don't be afraid to ask me questions, although in retrospect, based on my own opinion of myself, you should probably ask someone who knows what they hell they are doing. Anyway, thanks for reading, hope I helped some of you in some small way. Just remember, write what you want to write, the rest will fall into place, I promise._

000

**There's that. Hope it was what I needed to write. To be honest it felt weird putting myself into a story so I completely understand if it comes out as complete %$#!**

**thanks for letting me be a part of this**

Cheers


End file.
